Lord Baden-Powell

[GuyFawkes]

I was deeply concerned when I read that BLM stated that Lord Baden Powell was a Nazi.. so I had a quick nosey around & found this.. a few facts that BLM seem to like to ignore...

 

BLM claim that Robert Baden-Powell, war hero and founder of the Scouts, was a Nazi-sympathiser - his statue MUST come down! Right?

Well, no actually, such a statement is wrong. He wasn't a Nazi-sympathiser, he was actually considered an enemy of the Nazis, and by the Nazis themselves! Let's explore why there's this misconception about him...

 

The two specific allegations I've seen levelled at Baden-Powell are:

 

1. He supported Hitler 

 

2. He used Swastikas on Scout badges

 

Let's deal with these individually.

 

Lord Baden-Powell read Mein Kampf, a popular book by a world leader, and he commented that he thought Hitler made good points about things like education, health, organisation etc - all things that actually relate to the Scout movement. 

I understand he later 'revised his opinion' before his death in 1941.

 

2. The Scouts first used the Swastika in 1908. The Nazis first used the Swastika over a decade later in 1920. After Hitler seized power the Scouts dropped the symbol.

Remember: the Swastika was a popular symbol in Britain decades before the Nazis existed. The Swastika was originally (and is still) an Indian symbol of peace, important in religions like Hinduism and Buddhism, dating back over 10,000 years. Because Britain's Empire included India, the Swastika became an iconic symbol and was used in architecture, on wedding dresses and famously on the spines and covers of Rudyard Kipling's books.

 

PLUS - on top of all of this - it's really important to note that Baden-Powell was actually blacklisted by the Nazis - he was considered an enemy of the Nazis, by the Nazis themselves!

The Scouts were banned in Germany and in 1940 he was listed in the 'Black Book', which listed the names of all the men and women to be immediately arrested upon a Nazi invasion of Britain. Baden-Powell was an influential figure - if he really was a Nazi sympathiser why would the Nazis have wanted him put away? 

 

So there you have it. This push to remove Baden-Powell's statue demonstrates perfectly why iconoclasm is so dangerous:  destructive groups rashly demand the removal of art and weak authorities authorise it - both groups have lost sight of the truth. It takes years to create, but only seconds to destroy.

 

I was pleased that the inhabitants of Poole had more concern for this particular statue than the weak and gutless UK Government  -I say this albeit I am a Conservative supporter - and prevented the removal of this particular part of England's heritage.

 

 

 

 

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[thaibeachlovers]

Doesn't matter. B P was an old white guy and as such is automatically an "enemy of the thugs protestors" and to be removed from sight and history forthwith.

[ubonjoe]

This is not the correct forum for this topic.

The home country forum is for "Pensions, regulations, laws, etc. that affect expats living in Thailand. No visa related topics."

Topic now